


Master Lau's Journey to the West

by Idonquixote



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon compliant up to chapter 127, Crack Treated Seriously, I couldn't think of a better title, M/M, Period-Typical Racism, Soma celebrates his 18th birthday at some point, it's a sad birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-29 08:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10849815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idonquixote/pseuds/Idonquixote
Summary: Lau was not a priest. Lau had no monkey. But Lau was a man. And Lau had Ranmao. And he would walk to the western paradise to find Soma Asman Kadar.It took Tang Sanzang eighteen years. Lau made it in seven days.





	Master Lau's Journey to the West

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SolitaireCoffee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SolitaireCoffee/gifts).



> This was inspired by a conversation with stellarlies, who this fic is dedicated to. I never thought I'd ever write for Soma/Lau, and here we are. Hopefully, it turned out well.

Lau doesn't think much of Prince Asman Kadar at first. The boy from Bengal floats into his life without much introduction, or rather, Lau is the one that floats into his life with barely a word, and they both find themselves by the side of the little English earl. Except Lau knows his place. He's an ally, a loyal partner, and he's certainly fond enough, interested enough in Phantomhive, but he never professes to be his friend. Kadar does not. Kadar insists on being Phantomhive's friend, his brother, and forges a steep road for himself. 

Lau doesn't have much thoughts on how Kadar lives his life. It's no business of his, and the prince is far too pure to keep the man's interest for long. Until Kadar does something that does keep Lau's interest. He calls on the opium den with his snowhaired manservant.

Lau remembers Ranmao furrowing her brows. _Why's he here?_ she seemed to ask. And all Lau could say is, "Must be bored, eh?"

"We had a really good time at the cricket match," Soma tells him, allowing himself in before Lau can send any of his employees forward, "and I always wondered why Ciel was such good friends with you. Any friend of Ciel's must have his merits!"

"Friends?" Lau asks, "Me? Well, the earl does keep good company."

"I've never really been allowed in places like this," Soma says, touring the den as if he owned it, inspecting the curtains and cushions one by one, "You really like red, don't you?"

Lau stays on the chaise-lounge, Ranmao poking her nose on his shoulder. If the prince is so comfortable, then he won't bother to get up. While Soma looks about in wide-eyed wonder, Agni comes up to the dealer and says lowly, "Please pardon the trouble. The prince has a very inquisitive nature."

"What trouble?" Lau says casually, a thin smile on his unreadable lips.

"I think the colors are too heavy," Soma says, "have you thought of some variation?"

"In my country, red means fortune," Lau says.

Soma's eyes brighten. "Oh!" He sits down (uninvited) by Lau's side. "I've never been. It's a pity- we're 'neighbors' after all. It's truly a miracle that we met in England, isn't it? And all thanks to Ciel!"

Lau doesn't remember much of what happens next. He exchanges little bits about his homeland with the prince, and somewhere along the line, offers a whiff of his pipe. The manservant tries to stop them, Soma insists, and it somehow ends in all three of them falling asleep in some drugged haze. It's nothing new to Lau. He wakes up as he does in the dawn, surrounded by his _charming_ employees, and is more amused than he expected to see Soma's hair undone, snoring on a couch, Agni on the ground.

And Lau thinks it'd be funny if he and Ranmao played a prank. She takes her underlings to where Soma lies and they form a circle around him. When Soma wakes, they fondle his hair and bat their lashes, as if they'd done so all night. Flabbergasted, Soma's cheeks boil red- he flails up. "W- what happened? Agni! Agni? I- what-"

"Kiss me again," Ranmao says.

"Kiss!?" Soma hops off, gathers his vest, and nudges Agni awake. Together, prince and butler hug and panic, Lau offering his clueless chuckles on the side.

"The prince didn't break any hearts did he!?" Agni asks, Soma in his embrace.

"Nah," Lau says, "he slept like a baby."

"Then why didn't you just say so?" Soma asks, halfway between a laugh and a yell.

Because it's funny, of course. But Lau doesn't say that. He says "ha ha ha" instead.

* * *

Kadar's visits are sporadic. Lau's never had such an impromptu customer, though this customer isn't fond of opium (not since the last fiasco) or whatever else the den offers (though Lau's women make it known that they're very taken with the handsome prince). And all it amounts to is Soma having a cup of tea with him in the backroom while Agni plays with Ranmao, who has since made it known that she very much enjoys the Indian butler's company. It's not often they receive such good will from their guests.

Lau puts up with Prince Asman Kadar, then. He doesn't like or dislike him any more than he already had, but if the youth wished to call him friend, then so be it. Lau doesn't mind being friends with royalty. But then Soma surprises him again.

"What's your name?" Soma asks one day.

"Eh? It's Lau. Unless someone changed it behind my back. I hope not!"

Soma laughs. "No, no, I'm not joking. I don't call Ciel 'Phantomhive.' And it's not like you call me Kadar either. What's your birth name?"

And for the first time, Lau pauses, his mind blank. In the many years that he'd lived in England, no one's bothered to ask this question, not even his countrymen. He's not sure if he'd rather keep it that way; there's flesh and blood behind his full name, something that tears away all the defenses he's spent so long building, a little piece of him he doesn't want to die. 

He remembers visiting the home of a partner whose name he forgot, a dark-haired Englishman who'd always told him, "I like you, Lau, I like you a lot. I can actually understand your English, and that's more than I can say for the rest of your brethren" and the usual words Lau's long since grown used to. The man had a daughter who'd fancied him, who'd bat her fan and smile coy smiles, and say, "You're beautiful, Lau, like an exotic butterfly." And he'd said, "Thanks!" She'd tried to run away with him, much to the dismay of her father, and that conflict had ended with Ranmao slicing off the head of their bodyguard, and a few nasty remarks from both sides. He remembers because never once had the girl asked him for his name- Lau, just Lau, one foreign face among a hundred.

"Lau..." He opens his eyes ever briefly to tell Soma. He doesn't know why, but he does, or he was going to before he caught himself. "Just call me Lau."

"Are you sure? I have twenty-five siblings myself and I've never been happy just being the prince. Only Meena, remember her?, knew me. And then Agni, and now Ciel, and you."

And for some reason, the name Meena fills Lau with dread. He's never given a rat's thought about that woman's corpse before. 

Even Phantomhive's never managed to stump him. But Kadar does, _Soma_  does. 

* * *

Maybe Soma's popped by a few more times since then, but Lau doesn't remember. Life goes by rather uneventfully for him in the time that follows, and the little earl's gone without calling on him either- it's all very boring. Until a card comes to their door, courtesy of the earl's butler, that dark fellow whose name he can't quite remember. Agni died. So Lau and Ranmao go to the funeral, having prepared their darkest clothing the night before. But in the morning, Lau decides to scrap all that- he wears his whitest changsan and Ranmao her whitest qipao.

As he expected, they stick out like sore thumbs in the funeral, but nobody questions all the white. The crowd is much larger than Lau expects, filled with faces of all ages and walks of life, anyone who so much as came into contact with the prince came along. He suspects Soma would have invited the Queen herself if he could. Soma burns Agni himself, and after the speeches are over, the fire spreads into the wind, ashes floating all about. The butler helps catch them in a jar- Soma wants to take him home.

Lau doesn't know how long it takes- he and Ranmao keep to themselves, barely saying a word. He's never really known Agni, though his death does come as a mild shock. The manservant had been strong, loyal, far too noble for the servant title. And the way he looked at Kadar is unlike any Lau's seen, not like the sinister glance of the earl's butler, the loyal stare in Ranmao's eye, the masked gaze in so many servants he's seen go by. Agni wasn't simply fond of Kadar- he lived for him, he worshiped the ground he walked on, all this Lau could tell. It's moving in its own way.

"What does white mean in your homeland?" Soma asks him quietly, face streaked with tears.

"Death," Lau says honestly.

* * *

Lau's not ashamed to say he didn't know how old Soma was. He really didn't care. But now he does, even if it's in the vaguest sense. Soma comes to him on a foggy day, alone, and Lau's not stupid enough to let the prince venture through the East End by himself in the night. So he lets the prince stay the night, away from the townhouse where he lost his beloved Agni. Lau doesn't ask why Soma's come to him instead of the earl- he's smart enough to know why. Soma doesn't want to see the earl and his butler, doesn't want to see any reminder of what he lost.

And still, the prince doesn't shed a tear. He sets Agni's jar of ashes by his side and simply tells Lau, "I'm eighteen years of age now."

"Happy birthday," Ranmao says, resting her head on Soma's shoulder.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Lau laughs. So he gathers together a group of his girls and they do a little number for the prince. It's impromptu and shoddy, but at this point, nobody in his employment can stand to see Soma in such low spirits.

"Can I have a pipe?" Soma asks later.

Months ago, Lau would have said 'sure!' but things are different now. Instead, he shakes his head. "No." And opens his eyes. "That's not what you want."

Soma doesn't fight him. He spends the remainder of the night huddled in the backroom while Lau and his company gamble with their customers, smoke, and laugh. But Lau can't bring himself not to care, not anymore. Kadar is an enigma, unfortunately. 

In the dead of night, Lau lies by the prince and says, "Tien Zu."

"What?" Soma mutters.

"The western paradise. That's what we used to call your country. There's a story- nah, it's too late to talk. But I've never been to the western paradise- we should go together. It'll be like a floating dream, and once we get there, we can wait for your servant's next life."

"That was beautiful."

"Thanks... so, what are we talking about?"

And for the first time that night, Soma laughs. 

* * *

There is a story. It's not Lau's favorite book, but it's certainly an unforgettable tale. A monk from Chang'an makes his way to India, motivated by the Buddha's holy scriptures, and with the company of his demonic disciples. He loved this story as a child, and perhaps a part of him still does. He still remembers their names, the ones who went on the _Journey to the West_. He thinks Soma will enjoy the story.

But he asks the prince on a different journey. 

"Travel the world?" Soma asks, taking in the words, "but what about your business?"

"I have people. It's going to be fine. Besides, the little earl's still here, no?"

As expected, the prince is elated to go on this vacation. Soma spends the rest of the week informing his friends and acquaintances of their arrangement and packing his bags. The servant he's hired to replace Agni's duties comes along, and save a little suspicion, the earl isn't particularly interested in whatever Soma gets up to with Lau, though he's a tad surprised at not being invited. 

Lau knows the earl well because he doesn't profess to being his friend. There's an understanding only allies would have. Phantomhive knows he's played a role in Soma's tragedy, and he knows what Soma wants from him will never be. But at this point, Lau does profess to being Soma's friend.

They take a ferry to France and the next month passes in a blur of colors and lights as they spin from one country to the next, catching trains and hitching carts until they've well passed ten or so borders. Him, Ranmao, Prince Soma, and the servant whose name isn't Agni. The group attracts stares, but it's nothing Lau can bring himself to care about. He spends more money than he's ever had for leisure, lavishing Soma with the finest cuisine, the oldest wine, anything to wring a laugh from the somber prince. He makes comments so airheaded that even Ranmao casts him sideways looks, but he makes Soma laugh and that's really all that matters now.

Agni's ashes come with.

* * *

Lau doesn't remember when he left China. For the first time in what seems like decades, he and Ranmao return, Soma and that other servant in tow. And he feels like an Englishman- Lau can't seem to recognize anywhere or anyone (though this is for the best; many would rather see him dead), and he probably wouldn't know his own emperor if he saw him on the street. He'd intended to stay in Shanghai for a time before taking Soma on a little tour in Hong Kong; from there, they'd make their way to India, return Agni's ashes to his family, and stay at Soma's palace for however long the prince wanted (assuming Lau doesn't get booted out).

He'd purchased a small mansion in the last five years and left his eastern workers to man it for him. The plan was to fake his death when he'd made enough money and retire here with Ranmao to live out the rest of their days in quiet peace. But now he's brought Soma and the money he's spent on the property must be worth it because the prince is more than excited to wander about.

They spend the nights under lantern lights, drinking tea and playing games, eating round-table dinners until their stomachs bloat. The mornings are filled with opera shows and puppeteers, rickshaw rides, and ducks in the pond, a blissful number of days away from reality. Soma especially likes to stare at the stars in the twilight, holding Agni's jar to his chin.

And then, like all good things, it comes to an end. It happens on a rainy day. Lau walks with Soma along the furnished gardens, pausing at the little crimson bridge overlooking the swimming ducks. He holds a paper umbrella over Soma's head. The prince turns his head, looks at Lau for a good moment, as if seeing the other man for the first time, as if it's finally dawned on him that Lau's prepared all this for him and him alone. And one way or another, Soma buries his face in Lau's chest. 

It aches more than a month without opium. It's an ache that Lau thought he left far behind him. Soma doesn't need to know his name to render him flesh and blood. He already has. He already had, from the first day he called on Lau's den without Ciel Phantomhive, he'd shattered all that Lau had built and now there was nothing to save him.

"Prince," Lau whispers, "prince..."

He thinks about Agni, about the western paradise, about the incidents that tied them together, and Lau confesses.

"I killed Meena."

Soma looks up, dumb confusion on his face. "What did you say?"

"I killed Meena." He says it organically- Lau has nothing to hide anymore. "West and her both. Ranmao bashed their heads in and we left."

"Lau, this isn't funny," Soma says, a nervous chuckle in his tone, "don't do this."

Lau opens his eyes and sees the rain. He sees the shadows of raindrops run over Soma's face. And then, very slowly, the prince pulls apart from him. "Why- why are you telling this to me now?"

"Because I'm your friend." It's a dumb reply, Lau knows, but in his dazed mind, it makes sense.

"No," Soma says. "No! You're not my friend- friends wouldn't- you- you're all the same." He gulps. "You and Ciel, all of you! I know I'm weak compared to you, I know you feel sorry for me, but that's not what I want. None of this- I don't want it. I don't want it."

Lau moves to touch him and Soma smacks him back. The prince turns and leaves, walking through the rain as Lau stares. There's a hole in the umbrella. That's why he feels a touch of wetness in the corner of his eye.

* * *

Soma's gone the next day. Lau broods over it for a long time, stroking Ranmao's hair. He thinks long and hard over what to do. He suspects Soma's gone home, or so he hopes, because he has no other clue. He's taken the servant and Agni's ashes. 

"I've made a mistake, haven't I?" he asks Ranmao.

"Yes."

"Then should I fix it?"

"Yes."

Lau stares at his cloth shoes. It took Tang Sanzang eighteen years to reach India. It took the real man seventeen, to and back. But Lau doesn't know that much about the real man. Tang Sanzang, however, he does. The Tang priest risked the loss of his flesh at every turn, survived perils daily, and owed it all to the all-powerful monkey that was his first disciple. Lau was not a priest. Lau had no monkey.

But Lau was a man. And Lau had Ranmao. And he would walk to the western paradise to find Soma Asman Kadar. He finally understood why Agni looked at him so.

It took Tang Sanzang eighteen years. Lau made it in seven days.

* * *

"Prince!"

Soma jolted awake. He sat up atop the makeshift bedseat on the elephant's back. That was a voice he still hadn't forgotten- lightly accented and obnoxiously fake. He never wanted to see the man called Lau again, not even in his dreams. He didn't see anyone so he chalked it up to a dream. Besides, how would Lau find him here anyway? He wanted to call Agni, but he knew that was impossible now and even the ashes had been laid to rest. Now he was alone again in his father's domain, but this time would be different- he'd be strong for Agni, for Meena, for himself.

"Prince!"

Soma looked down. To his shock, Lau and Ranmao stood before him in the flesh, looking as if they'd been maimed with wild dogs. Lau, especially, looked like a common beggar, face littered with dust and bruises, his wild hair even messier than before. And was that dried blood?

"What are you doing here?" Soma snapped, "how did you get past my guards?"

Lau grinned and pulled out a needle from his ripped sleeve. "Puts 'em out pretty easily!"

Soma glowered. "Help! Intruders!"

"Prince, prince-"

"Soma, wait," Ranmao said.

It was a quiet sound but Soma paused. He tried to control his beating heart, the rising rage, but seeing them again, so soon, was more than he could bear. 

"Soma," Lau said, those narrow eyes open yet again, "Soma, I-"

"How do they say it in your language?" Soma said, " _Guen! Guen!_ Get out!"

"Your pronunciation is impeccable," Lau said, before seeming to remember Soma was directing those words at him, "wait! I just wanted to stop by-"

"To what? Catch up!? Mock me? What do you want!?"

"I'm sorry! Forgive me, don't forgive me, who cares! But I'm sorry, Soma, you shouldn't have any friends because nobody's good enough, ah, that didn't come out right. I mean to say, you're not weak- I am- I am! Until you and me, and uh, this- you, I needed to see you again. You're the sun in my sky."

 _The sun in my sky_. Soma climbed down and when he set foot on the ground, looked at the ragged duo. _What did you say?_ For a moment, Agni was there beside him, staring at him with understanding eyes, telling him to do what he feels right because the prince always did right, even to those who didn't deserve it. And even then, he would make them deserve it. Agni believed this. And Soma believed Agni.

So Soma decided to believe Lau. He threw his arms around the man's neck, and unlike last time, Lau hugged him back. Tightly. Another pair of arms joined in-Ranmao. Lau stunk, but Soma didn't care. He wanted to laugh and maybe cry, or vice versa, because he didn't know what to do next. Maybe it didn't matter. For now, he was in Lau's arms, and Lau in his, and all of them stood in the western paradise for a moment worth more than eternity.  

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and feel free to leave comments/kudos!
> 
> stellarlies, I hope you enjoyed this. You were the inspiration!


End file.
